"Just breathe."

--Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam

I first knew Pearl Jam's music by way of Josh and Ben Bates and John Ossenfort.  Thank you, guys, for introducing me to this monumental band.  

A few weeks ago, I was standing on the sideline of Andalusia's football field waiting for the game to start.  I was talking to a friend of mine who had recently judged a band contest and he was a little bummed because he felt like he had made the wrong call on a Best-In-Class award.  I thought about how many times I've judged and later felt like I made the wrong call.  He continued talking about how it had bothered him for the whole week after, and while I appreciated how much he wished he'd made the "right" call, I motioned up at the moon, and said "well...there's the moon, right where it's supposed to be...so I guess the world went right on like it was supposed to."   He laughed and understood the point I was trying to make...at least I hope he did.  

We get so wrapped up in the RIGHT NOW, and by "we" I mean me....

So many times, we take the issue that's right in front of us, and with the help of stress, anxiety, panic, Satan, maybe Congress, or the news media, we make that issue out to be the equivalent of the Titanic sinking or Pompeii being covered by volcanic ash or the 18th championship.  To be fair and honest, there are times when this is true.  Cancer sucks.  Death sucks.  Divorce sucks.  But most of the time,  the things that I stress over won't even matter in a few hours...let alone tomorrow, or next month, or in eternity.  

But OH MY GOD do I/we ever stress over them in the "right now!"  

When the stressors come, and they come every day, in every size, shape, color, religious affiliation, and political alignment, how in the world are we supposed to deal with them???  It seems like the media is a barrage of negativity.  I supposed I could turn the TV off, but then I wouldn't get to hear about Megan Kelly and Donald Trump.  Darn.  I guess I could shut down social media.  Laughable at best--I know myself well.  What are we to do....???

I believe it was that neurotic, brilliant, although CRS fish, Dory,  who said "just keep swimming."  God, I hate that fish...LOL. But I love that movie. And that message.  We have to just keep swimming.  Or as Eddie Vedder said it, "just breathe."  Just. Breathe.  Did it ever occur to you that you are not required to respond to every single stimulation that comes your way?? I mean, it's not in the Constitution of being human. But I certainly react to them as if I must react to them right this very minute.  I simply cannot stand to have a notification on my phone that I have an unread email or text.  I. Must. Get. To. That. Thing. This. Very. Minute.  My God, that is exhausting.  Just breathe, Johnny.

I'm overstimulated to the point that I can barely do this.  I go at a breakneck pace most of the time, and it's my own fault.  The demands I feel for giving an instant answer or a response are at a boiling point and I doubt I'm alone in this.

In the movie Lean On Me, the school principal Joe "Crazy Joe" Clark is jailed at one point, and a school board member is trying to convince him to apologize about something I can't recall right now, and he tells Joe "you have to!"  Joe's response is absolutely epic:  "I ain't gotta do anything but stay black, and die."  Priceless.  Truly priceless.  All the "things" on my to do list...they're just things I THINK I have to do, and sometimes I wonder if I don't make lists just so I can say I crossed things off my list?!?!  So, who's really neurotic? Dory? Or Johnny??

Y'all have a good Thanksgiving.  Thanks for reading.  God Bless!